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Wentworth Hunter Pace - June 6, 2021

After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time!  most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the

Sparky's Famous Relatives

OK, so I know this is a Standardbred blog, but I do have to sometimes write about my first love, the Morgan horse breed and my own Joydale Sparklerslas affectionately known as Sparky.  And come on, one of the Standardbred's founding breeds was the MORGAN!  LOL!

One of my readers asked in a comment on the "Stall Plate" post about Sparky's Kennebec lines.  While she does not carry the "Kennebec" Morgan prefix, she is indeed from that line, having been born on a different farm so carries a different prefix.  Her sire is Kennebec Chief (aka Kenny) and her dam is Kennebec Spark.

Sorry, I know this is crappy.  I made this many years ago and just scanned it tonight.  My scanner is CRAPPY!  :-(


I grew up riding at the farm where Sparky was born, the Joydale Morgan Farm....and I learned to ride on her siblings and relatives!  I learned to canter on her sire Kenny!  :-)  Quite a thrill to ride a stallion at age nine! (or maybe it was eight...I cannot remember when I graduated to Kenny!) 

This is me with Kenny circa 1988!!!

Such a handsome boy!
And I boarded Sparky there for a while....she shared her pasture with her full sister Joydale Amy and their dam Kennebec Spark, who was also called Sparky.  So we had "Sparky Sr." and "Sparky Jr."  ROFL!  :-)  I still have her old flymask kicking around somewhere that says "Sparky Jr." in permanent marker!

Sparky is related to the famous Morgan Kennebec Count.  He is so darn famous he has his own Breyer!  LOL! 


On their sire's side, they share the same grandsire (Kennebec Ethan). And Count's sire King and Sparky's sire (Kenny) have the same dam (Helen May).  I have Count's Breyer horse, of course!!! He was a grand old stallion and I enjoyed going to Miss Gardiner's farm in Woolwich (ME) to visit him. It was always a thrill to see him carriage driving with his son Russel!!

Someday I will own another Morgan.  I wish I could afford one of Miss Gardiner's horses, but sadly I am too poor.

Comments

  1. I rode a Morgan mare for several years--alas, she had more than a few screws loose, and would take off bucking at random intervals for no apparent reason. That got dangerous sometimes, when she'd blow a gasket crossing a road or on the side of a mountain. However, I was young and bouncy, and would've kept her forever, except that her owner (a bad person) sold her out from under me to a BEGINNER ("she's old and therefore trustworthy", um, NOT) and I think that guy or the next one sent her to the packer.... I still get a case of the blues in late March, the anniversary of it all going bad.

    Prettiest dang mare you ever saw. Maybe even a bit prettier than a standardbred. (gasp!)

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  2. I've never had a Morgan but the good ones are very good horses indeed - there's a Lambert line Morgan at our barn who is a lovely mare.

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  3. Aww, that is too bad, Aarene! :( Every breed has its crazies! Usually Morgans are pretty levelheaded!

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  4. What a great horsey begining! Very trusty steeds, Morgans. I've only known 4, but love them all.
    I poppod over from sweety horse breath's, Kristens. She and I have been talking"treeless". She said, you rode "ANSUR". ?
    If so, what model and also, what body type does your horse have.
    Thanks,
    kacylovingu@yahoo.com
    Or
    Allhorsestuff blog

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  5. Hi Allhorsestuff! Welcome to my blog! I think you have the wrong person though. :) I do not have a treeless saddle. I own a Stubben, Collegiate, and a Duett. Oh and a Circle Y too! :)

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  6. Yay for Circle Y. Our other horse rides in one. It's lovely. Too much saddle for me though lol.

    So it IS the same Kennebec line! Awesome!!!! That must've been wonderful to know all of Sparky's relatives, for comparing and contrasting's sake. And find that flymask! That sounds so cute!

    I love Morgans. They're so level-headed and versatile. I only rode one once in my life for western pleasure back when I was a kiddo, and I remember Ginny was the soundest horse at the barn, for several years straight!!!1

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